The present invention relates to a front vehicle-body structure of a vehicle, and in particular, relates to the front vehicle-body structure of the vehicle in which the distance between a front side frame and an apron reinforcement which are spaced apart from each other when viewed from the front is relatively large.
Conventionally, a front vehicle-body structure of a vehicle, which comprises a pair of right-and-left front side frames extending in a vehicle longitudinal direction, a pair of right-and-left apron reinforcements extending straightly in the vehicle longitudinal direction above and outward, in a vehicle width direction, of the pair of front side frames, and a pair of right-and-left fender panels covering respective outward sides, in the vehicle width direction, of the pair of apron reinforcements, is known.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-000866 discloses a front vehicle-body structure of a vehicle, in which a pair of right-and-left apron reinforcements extend in the vehicle longitudinal direction above a pair of front side frames, respective front side portions of which slant inward in a vehicle width direction such that their front end portions roughly match respective front end portions of the pair of front side frames in the vehicle longitudinal direction when viewed from above, and the front end portion of the apron reinforcement and the front end portion of the front side frame are interconnected by a support member as a connecting frame.
In these days, there is a tendency that a longitudinal-long shaped headlamp is used. The shape of the fender panel has changed according to the use of this longitudinal-long shaped headlamp. In a case of a lateral-long shaped headlamp, a front end portion of the fender panel is positioned near a rear end of the headlamp. By contrast, in a case of the longitudinal-long shaped headlamp, the headlamp is arranged over an area from a vehicle-body front corner portion to a vehicle-body side portion, so that the front end portion of the fender panel extends, passing through a space between a shroud and the headlamp, to a position near a rear end of a bumper face.
In a case in which the fender panel having its longitudinal-short front end portion is used from a viewpoint of vehicle's design, the support rigidity of the apron reinforcement can be ensured by configuring the front end portion of the apron reinforcement slanting inward in the vehicle width direction such that the front end portion of the apron reinforcement roughly match the front end portion of the front side frame when viewed from above, like the front vehicle-body structure of the above-described patent document.
However, in a case in which the fender panel having its front end portion extending forward long is used, it is necessary that the apron reinforcement is arranged so as to avoid the headlamp, so that it may not be easy from a layout to configure the front end portion of the apron reinforcement slanting inward in the vehicle width direction such that the front end portion of the apron reinforcement roughly match the front end portion of the front side frame. Accordingly, in a case in which the apron reinforcement is provided to extend straightly in the vehicle longitudinal direction above and outward, in the vehicle width direction, of the front side frame, there is a concern that the distance (offset amount) between the front side frame and the apron reinforcement which are spaced apart from each other in the vehicle width direction becomes so large that the support rigidity of the apron reinforcement may decrease (deteriorate) improperly.
Further, since the front end portion of the fender panel is supported at the front end portion of the apron reinforcement via a connecting bracket, there occurs a situation in which the weight of the fender panel intensively acts on the front end portion of the apron reinforcement which does not have the sufficient support rigidity. Therefore, there is a concern that the support rigidity of the fender panel may not be ensured sufficiently.